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2 Sheets-Sheet 1'.

J. O. OORAM.

SWITCH P011 STORE TRACKS.

(No Model.)

I n We $01" Patented May 29, 1883,.

Wz'Zncsses: I (9 N. PETERS. PhMo-Lhbagmihcr. WAIJIQQ 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

' (No Model.)

J. 0. GQRAM. SWITCH FOR STORE TRAGKS.

N0. 278,657. Patented May 29,1883.

N. PETERS. Pllcivulhcgrnphlr. Wilm ngton. D, C.

- UNITED STATES of Massachusetts, have, invented a new and PATENTOFFICE.

JOH o. ooRAM,'or LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, EDWINLAMSON, JOSEPH A. GORAM, A. THISSELL, s n. Pun-FER, enoncn P.wALKEacEoReE B. GORAM, JOHN DENNIS, AND 0. H.

ROBBINS, ALL on SAME PLACE.

SWITCH FOR STORE-TRACKS.

SPEOIFICATIQN forming part of LettersPatent No. 278,657, dated May29,1883.

Application filed July 1a, 182;. (N model.)

To all whom it may concern: I i

Be it known that I, JOHN C. OORAM, of the city of Lowell, county ofMiddlesex, and State useful Improvement in Switches for Store Tracks, ofwhich the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to tracks used in stores to convey rolling objectsfrom place to place, in which objects money or messages may betransmitted; and its objects are to provide a switch adapted to directdififerent sets of balls or rolling objects to different tracks from a'sin gle track, being actuated byithe balls themselves as they pass downthe main track, and

to provide a mechanism whereby the switch shall be locked in positionwhile the balls are plish these objects by the mechanism illus passingover it,and to cause them to automatically return the switch, whenthrown into position for use with the branch line, into connectionwiththe main line after use. I accomtrated in the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure 1 is a plan View of a track provided with a switch ofmy construction. Fig. 2 is an end view, looking toward the switch downthe main line. Fig. 3 is a detail showing the lockin g device andreversing-lever as attached to the inside of theinner rail of thebranch, such rail being removed from the other 'p'ortions of the track.7 l

A is the main line of the track, consisting of the outside rail, a, andinside rail, a

B is the branch track, consisting of the rails b and b this latter beinga continuation of of the frog is in line with the track-rails the itother will bethrown so low that it will not be in the way of balls orconveyers mum g down the line. i p

c is the outer rail of the frog 0.

c? is the inner rail. tilted so that the mile is raised to the level ofthe rail a it shuts oil the switch and forms a continuous main track,because the rail 0 is then depressed so low as to be entirely out of theway beneath the main track. When the frogG is rolled or rockedon itspintles so as to bring the rail 0 up to the level of the rail a, therail0 will be correspondingly depressed and out of the way, and 0 will forma connectingrail between a and b, closing up the main track and shuntinga rolling ball upon the side track. It is of' course understood that thepiritle at thejunction of rails a and b keeps that end of the rails c osubstantially on a level with a? I), while the pintle at theend d of thefrog is at all times at one-half the distance below the track to whichthe rails c or 0 can be depressed by "the oscillation of the frog..

0 is a catch-pin inserted into the inner rail, by means of which theswitch is locked when in line with the branch track B.

D is bail supportinglever f. This lever is provided with a cam which isin contact with the catch-lever g, which ispivoted at g and providedwith the book 9 at its lower end,

which engages ina notchin the arm h, which is attached to thefrog. Thearm h is weighted, as shown, so that whenever-the book 9 is disengagedfrom the arm h the gravity of the weight will throw up the rail 0, so asto bring it l'evel with the rails a and b, and cause any object rollingdown the line A to be carried When the frog 0 is acted on and depressedby the shunted ball,

' this end of the lever being flattened on top to facilitate the passageof the ball over it. The other arm of lever J is of such length as toextend to the immediate neighborhood of rail 0* of the frog, and isprovided at its end with a projecting'lug,j. Adjoining the depressed endof the lever is a freely-swinging catch, 70, which by gravity tends toassume a position in which its beveled lower end, 76, will overhang theend of the lever. This catch is is provided on its side next to the frogwith a lateral shoulder or projection, h situated thereon at a pointabove the bevel It. Fastened to rail 0 of the frog is a pin, 0, whichprojects laterally therefrom, and is of such length that it will extendunder the locking shoulder or projection k When it occupies thisposition it will extend across above the lugj of the lever, asindicated. The effect of this arrangement is as.follows: Supposing thefrog to be in its normal or main-line position, if there be sent overthe main track a ball which is too small to operate lever f-- whose campart (shown in side elevation inFig.4}bearsagainstlocking-leverg-theswitch will remain unaffected, andthe ball will continue on the main track. If, however, the ball be ofsufficient size to strike lever f and turn it on its axis, the cam partof this lever will bear down upon the upper end of lever 9, moving it tothe position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, and thus removing thecatch y from the weighted arm h. The latter,

on its release, at once falls to the position shown in dotted lines,thereby turning the frog on its pivot in a direction to depress rail 0and to raise rail c into line with the rail 1) of the side track. As therail 0 descends, its

laterally-projecting pinbears down upon the lugj of the lever J, (whichwe will suppose had been raised by the passage of the last previouslyshunted ball over the side track,) and thus depresses this end of leverJ, which, in its descent, pushes back before it the freely- Swingingcatch is. As soonas the end of the lever descends below the beveledlower part, k, of the catch, the catch swings forward by gravity untilthe beveled part k overhangs they end of the lever, in which positionthe shoulder or projection k will overhang the pin 0 thus locking theswitch or frog in its shunting position. At this time the flattened endof the lever J is raised above the level of the track.

The operation just described takes placeinstantly as soon as theweighted arm h is unlocked, The ball, after passing leverf,isconsequently shunted upon the side track, B, over which it passes. In sodoing it rides over and depresses the flattened end of lever J, and theother end of the lever of course rises. In this movement it first, bycoming in contact with the beveled edge k, pushes back the catch it farenough to move the shoulder 70 back'from over the cross-pin c and thenits lug j comes up against and lifts thepin 0 against the stress ofweighted arm h, and thus returns the frog to its original or main-lineposition, in which it is again locked by the re-engagement of the arm hwith catch 9 In case there are a numberof switches at various points onthe main'track, I make the switch-levers f of different lengths, settingthem in regular order, so that the first reached shall be the farthestremoved from the track, and thence gradually decreasing the elevation ateach succeeding switch. Thus the largest balls only will be shunted atthe first switch, and so on to'the last'switch, which. will be reachedby the smallest balls only.

What I claim as new and of my invention is- 1. The combination of themain lihe A and branch B with the shifting frog 0, actuated by ashifting-lever projecting over the track,

with which the carrier moving down the main line comes into contact,substantially as described.

2. The combination of a main track and branch track with a frog providedwith a rail held in alignment with the main track by a catch-lever and abalance-weight, with such balance-weight adapted, when such catch-leveris operated, to shift the alignment of the rails to the branch by thegravity of the weight, substantially as described. I

3. The combination of a main and branch lines of track, and a frog whoserails can be. aligned with either themain or branch rails, with a leverlocated beyond the switch upon the branch track, adapted toautomatically return the frog-rail to alignment with the main line eachtime a rolling object passes over the branch, substantially asdescribed.

JOHN G. QORAM.

Witnesses:

GEO. B. GoRAM, LEPINE 0. RICE.

